It was a lucky coincidence, attending ‘The Art of the Mimeograph’ a conference organised by Alt Gar Bra. I think it was a stroke of coincidence, which came at a time when I was feeling a bit lost under the PhD. It was a great event – it really opened my eyes up to how many movements surrounded this machine and the different purposes it served. From generating a national identity for refugee and Ukrainian POW camps, giving a voice to the alternative movement in the UK, a chance for the self-publishing of beat and experimental poetry, the fanzine movement to find its voice and the beautiful collection of Japanese mimeograph artwork.
Alt Gar Bra – the organisers of the event – is a group of visual artists researching the intersections between art and politics through discursive events, exhibitions, and publications. It was held in the bunker of the Westminster University – P3, which was a very apt setting for the conference. Honestly, I was in the process of fixing my mimeograph at the time, so I sheepishly confess I had never used one! So for no other reason, it was good to see one actually in use. They had a great exhibition of the work they had created during a week of workshops with students. It quickly became apparent the lack of sundries- wax paper and styluses which are a rising problem amongst a dying technology.
Some of my personal highlights were seeing Elizabeth Haven Hawley, talk about Ukrainian Prisoner of War camps – the means in which the camp created their own publications in establishing unified nationalism. Her knowledge of the technology meant she could derive all kinds of insights into the relationships and politics of the camps at the time. She linked this right to recognition as a community with the Daughters of Billitis, the first lesbian civil rights group in the USA. Some of the ways she spoke about community and technology were really inspiring to me – to not just be drawn to the frontline and fashionable technology, but what actually can be accessed by communities. How to pass on histories which have meaning and are not just the black and white, the fact that anyone can use a mimeograph – which allows for greater authorship (so geeked out).
Then Jess Baines of LCC and UWE – talked about radical presses around the ’70s. This was great to see, to understand how counterculture accessed the mimeograph and other forms of print. I was a bit disappointed with the left, the anarchists and socialists for inner-fighting, but hey, so the story continues. I will definitely be following her PhD researching the UK presses at the time. Lawrence Upton, Bruce Wilkinson and Douglas Field all spoke about the role of the mimeograph in alternative poetry. Lawrence speaking about his friend Bob Cobbing – who sounds like a right laugh, as well as a fantastic poet – truly inspiring work and ethos. Bruce spoke about the little poetry magazines and the rise of counterculture – focusing on BB Books in Blackburn. Douglas (hilarious) gave a great overview of some the experimental poetry publications and publishers, speaking further on the work of Jeff Nuttall and his relationship with William Burroughs. – My Own Mag collection here. Rob Hansen was the final of the first day – who had an impressive knowledge and collection of British mimeographed fanzines – from its beginnings in the 1930s. I loved hearing about how the mailing of work and collaborative putting together of the work built such a community.
Ueno Hisami gave an amazing talk the following day about Japanese mimeograph – where it was treated as an art form as well as a copying process. She gave a deep insight into its industrial and artistic fields. Some of the work she showed was absolutely incredible – demonstrating how a 6 plate print could give the impression of an oil painting. It was also really useful to learn how the wax stencils were made from the strong fibres of Gampi, I will have to bear this in mind. I have included images by Tetsuya Noda and Ueno Hisami, there is also a link to her exhibition and talk on the Mimeograph in Japan here.
Second to last, was Alessandro Ludovico – whose talk was really great. I feel like it needs another blog post dedicated to this as his writing and research resounds with my current line of investigation. He defined the qualities of Mimeograph print- being the last truly continuous analogue form of print. He spoke about the trust and physical contact of distribution, presenting his investigation into the underground and political print in Italian activism. Then he related this use of the obsolete in the current post-digital experience. I found the example of the Pewdiepie printer hack in 2018. Which could be a lot of fun to do. As I said, I could write a lot more – but you are spared.
Finally, David Mayor of Beau-Geste press gave an interview with Amy Tobin (who I originally heard as Amon Tobin – bit disappointed) It was great to hear of this collective – and I found him particularly funny, especially when he shot down her( and my own) dreams of a deep through the iron curtain connection with the Hungarian and Czech artist collective. His group Cephalopedia finished the event with a fantastically bizarre performance which included collective poetry, mimeograph printing, potato printing and a soundtrack accompaniment created from chopping vegetables.
I left feeling inspired and creative!
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